There is a growing online subculture that seeks solace in the sounds of rustling wrappers and hushed voices.

These people are followers of Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response or ASMR, a tingling sensation that starts at the top of the head and makes its way down the body.

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The pleasurable feeling can be triggered by all kinds of sounds, including whispering, lip smacking and clicking. Some participants find that watching another person fold clothes or perform other mundane task sparks this blissful sensation.

But this is different from "frisson," the goose bumps or chill you may experience when you hear incredible music.

It's the opposite of the shudder that may pass through your body when you hear the sound of nails dragging across a chalkboard, Lindsay Ragone, a Toronto-based filmmaker who is making a documentary about ASMR, explained to the Daily News

Ragone came across ASMR while searching for relaxing videos to help with her chronic insomnia. It took her a while to find the right kind of video, but she eventually pinpointed one that did the trick: the crinkling of plastic candy wrappers.

Sleeping pills alone weren't enough to guarantee her a restful night, but she now uses the medication in conjunction with the ASMR videos to great effect.

ASMRtist GentleWhispering's most popular video has more than 4.7 million views on YouTube. (GentleWhispering via YouTube)

Others rely on ASMR to manage anxiety or depression.

"Everyone has their own unique reason for using the videos," Ragone said. "One thing that will work for one person will be completely off-putting for another person."

Ragone is calling her documentary "Braingasm," a word that "applies to the euphoric feeling that you get in your head, which is in no way sexual."

The idea that ASMR has nothing to do with sex is echoed in a number of places.

"This is sometimes referred to as head orgasms, but this is about as sexual as saying eating chocolate is orgasmic (in that it's not sexual)," the ASMR Reddit thread reads.

But what does ASMR feel like?

YouTube user TheWaterwhispers in an ASMR video that contains 11 different triggers, including the clanking of computer keys. (TheWaterwhispers via YouTube)

"Imagine that you're outside and all of a sudden a cold breeze touches your skin. You feel this cold kinda shiver under your skin that causes goose bumps on the outside. Imagine that instead of feeling a cold shiver or tingle, it's a warm pleasant one that you can feel in your entire body," Ilse Blansert told the Daily News.

Blansert, who is better known as TheWaterwhispers, has three ASMR-related YouTube channels and a total of more than 119,000 subscribers.

She has posted almost 300 videos, which have earned her more than 16.5 million views altogether.

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Making ASMR videos and spreading to word about it are now part of Blansert's full-time job.

"Many people connect and bond together because of and with ASMR because, in most cases, they've never found anyone who experienced the same feeling, (and) that's what makes it special," she said.

Among the most popular videos in the booming ASMR community are "role plays." These try to replicate the experience of going to the eye doctor or getting a makeover, which are common stimuli for people. Role plays that mimic getting your hair cut are also well received.

Ilse Blansert’s ASMR videos have a combined total of more than 16.5 million views. (TheWaterwhispers via YouTube)

Another common trigger? Videos of Bob Ross.

Ross, an artist who hosted the PBS series 'The Joy of Painting' and crafted "happy little trees," is a favorite among ASMR subscribers because of his calming, even voice, the sound of the brush strokes across the canvas and his one-on-one teaching style, according to the ASMR Lab.

ASMR may sound like a scientific term, but it's not. There is actually no quantitative research to back it up. Yet some of these videos have surpassed 1 million views, so it's clear that thousands of people believe in the practice.

Neurologist Steven Novella mulled over the topic in a May 2012 blog post. Anecdotal evidence led him to conclude that the phenomenon is plausible.

"This is just another example of how our brains are fantastically complex and weird," he wrote. "How else can you explain the existence of videos of whispering Latin and wrapping paper noise on YouTube."

How did these videos get to YouTube in the first place? The early days of ASMR are a little murky. The idea started popping up on the Internet as "Attention Induced Head Orgasm" in the late 2000s. In 2008, a Yahoo group called the "Society of Sensationalists" launched.

The soothing voice of the late Bob Ross, who hosted the PBS series ‘The Joy of Painting,’ is a common ASMR trigger. (Uncredited/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Some credit the term "Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response" to Jennifer Allen, who started a related Facebook group in Feb. 2010.

The ASMR crowd is sometimes called the Whisper Community, and whisper videos reportedly started appearing online in 2009.

Many of the content creators or ASMRtists who post new videos are female, but there are also a number of well-known men in the community. YouTube user ASMRGAINS' videos have more than 3 million views altogether. TheLyricalWhispers' videos have more than 1 million views.

"Men and women make videos to help each other," Blansert explained. "It's a community where people respect each other and love each other for what they do and who they are."